The Teatro de la Zarzuela presents its 2023/2024 season, the 164th since opening its doors in 1856, with which Daniele Bianco ends his eight-year stint as director of this coliseum.
An artistic project of his, which began in November 2015 (his first scheduled season was 2016/17) with the intention that the Coliseum on Madrid’s Jovellanos Street—today also happily named Teresa Berganza Square—”will continue that work. for which it was born some 167 years ago: for the music of this country to be the privileged setting for Spanish musical theatre”.
This is what the director of the theater said and confirmed, who will hand over his position on November 1 to Ismay Benavente – the new director of the same by competition – with the calmness and satisfaction of duty, and with the certainty that it is still the work that the Spanish lyrical The legacy, in favor of protecting its theater and its artists, is “very exciting”.
In this way, Daniel Bianco extends his hand to all those involved in this difficult task “to continue walking together in the same direction; to feel, enjoy and live the wide variety of our Spanish lyrical style, because Its richness lies precisely in its great multiplicity”.
Regarding the policy and reality of affordable prices for all, Daniel Bianco explains his indispensable role at the helm of the Teatro de la Zarzuela: “It is essentially our business as a public theatre, all of us who participate in it work, knowing that we provide a service to the citizens”. an act which, he affirms, “fills us with pride”, and that “it is no surprise to see the theater every night with audiences who discover and enjoy its cultural heritage”.
And in that presentation, after stalls filled with people and emotion, occasional tears as that farewell was clear, the last time Bianco hosts a season is 2023-2024, which means that his Farewell Teresa in front of the Coliseum in Berganza Square.
Introduction by pianist Ramon Grau, who interprets some of the zarzuelas that await us in this new season.
And those feelings were highlighted when, in the middle of the act, a group of young artists, one of those from the Zarza project who was the apple of Daniel Bianco’s eye, took to the stage and enthusiastically mixed zarzuela songs. Did. His character always portrays him, no matter who makes that project, at which point an emotional director calls for a respite to Zarzeros and the applause of the attendees so he can continue.
And a poignant finale like great evenings and nights of zarzuela with zarzuela, with the audience standing on its feet for a few minutes to applaud Daniel Bianco, once again emotional and tearful, as he applauds for eight years of work. Are at the helm theater, meeting goals and continually meeting challenges.
Thanks Daniel White!
Don’t go too far
The theater of La Zarzuela before its new season in Data:
157 scheduled tasks maintain recent years’ average
10 musical theater titles will be presented with 1 world premiere of a new composition, 1 recovery of our lyrical heritage and 5 titles from the great repertoire; In total there are 6 new productions, 3 revivals and 1 concert version
The concert cycle will feature 10 pieces for all types of audiences and the Ambiguous Notes cycle will feature 11 recitals.
The theater continues with its strong commitment to the educational project, with a new title of the already traditional and successful Zarza Project, and a puppet show with live music for the little ones.
The Domingos de Camara cycle and the ‘Apropos de’ cycle dedicated to Spanish composers continue. by Guillermo García Calvo, music director of the theater
Chamber Musical Theater will return to co-production with the Juan March Foundation and the Laid Cycle, co-produced with the CNDM, will celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Two youth subscriptions have been created: one for operas from 33 euros, and the other for concerts from 32 euros. In addition, fans under the age of 30 will be able to purchase full season tickets at 50% off.
Public prices and many discounts are maintained: 50% for visitors under 30, over 65, large or single-parent families, unemployed people and people with disabilities. All of them can get tickets from two and a half euros to 25 euros.
People up to the age of 30 can take advantage of last minute tickets at the same price of 5 Euro
Teatro de la Zarzuela 2016-2024: the numbers
Number of customers increased by 59.72%: from 1,405 in 2016/17 to 2,244 in 2019/20
The average age of people coming to the theater decreases by 9 years
The average occupancy in the pre-pandemic season was 93% and the current average occupancy is 85.56%
61 productions were presented (51 on stage and 10 in the concert version).
80 concerts: 78 on the stage of the theater and two in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid (2017 and 2018) on the occasion of the San Isidro festival
26% of the artistic activity is dedicated to the didactic project, with more than 65,000 young people filling the stalls in the editions of the Zarza Project and more than 115,000 registered visits to the seven productions available on YouTube.
187 shows at the Ambiguo del Teatro: 73 concerts from the Notas del Ambiguo cycle (with two editions of the Composition Prize and 9 winners); 22 concerts (from 2019) of the Domingos de Camara cycle in which, thanks to the agreement with the RCSMM, 13 works by Spanish composers have been premiered; 6 concerts of the cycle ‘Apropos of.’ (from 2021); 86 School Festivals (from 2018)
Chamber Musical Theater Cycle: 8 co-productions with the Juan March Foundation
6 editions of master classes: Jaime Aragal, Isabel Rey, Teresa Berganza, José Carlos Plaza, Nicola Beller Carbone and Luis Pascal
54 Conference. As of 2020 they have been broadcast on YouTube (21 to date) and have over 31,500 views
30 episodes of the series ‘Viaje por la Zarzuela’, more than 100,000 views
50 episodes of the series ‘between the scenes’, with over 120,000 views on the Instagram account and YouTube channel since it debuted during confinement
Productions from the Teatro de la Zarzuela have been seen at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, and the Opera de Lausanne in Switzerland. A Coruña to Teatro Colón, Santander Festival Palace, Arriaga Theater in Bilbao or Palacio Valdés Theater in Aviles
Awards: Opera XXI Award for Best Production for ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’ (2019); Max Award for Best Musical or Lyrical Show for ‘Dona Francisquita’ (2020), in addition to various nominations as a finalist; Ópera XXI Award for the Best Lyric Promotion Initiative for the Zarza Project (2021); Special Current Opera Award to Teatro de la Zarzuela (2021); Opera XXI Award for Best Cultural Institution (2023)
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